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Ɍiftbreaker
Chapter I My name is Gash. I live—well, used to live—in Avant Gardens. That's not the proper name now; it's been called Chaos City ever since the maelstrom took over two years ago. This must be confusing to you, huh? Here's a little history for you. On January 31st, exactly at midight, the Maelstrom finished their conquest on Nexus Tower. Their previous fallback on Crux Prime was all a ruse, to lead the Nexus Force squadron on Point Zeta—the 12th Regiment, they were called—into a false sense of security. The trick had worked, and the Maelstrom had taken over while the 12th Regiment's backs were turned. Wasting no time, the Baron had commanded his troops on Crux to send reinforcements to the failing armies in Gnarled Forest, Forbidden Valley, and Avant Gardens. They quickly and efficiently destroyed all resistance, smashing any hope we had and starving us. The Baron himself appeared on every planet and directed us to join him, as citizens of his cities—Chaos, Turmoil, and Destruction—or be smashed or starved as his Stromling armies burned and infected our already failing crops. Most of our people joined, but my family was one of the few that resisted. One night the Stromlings came, torching all of our belongings and destroying our supplies of food. They took my parents and brought them to the Baron, neglecting to dispose of them but instead enslaving them and putting them to work in one of the Baron's mining facilities. Me and my sister, Saia, were of the opinion that they were dead by now—after all, no one survives long while doing heavy labor in freezing temperatures—even though every assured us that 'they'll be fine, you'll see.' Well, they said that until their family was taken away too. Soon it was a common occurrence; you would wake up at midnight to the sound of sobbing and the quiet sound of crackling flames. People's morale eventually sunk to zero, and by an almost unanimuos vote, our little coast village gave in to the Maelstrom. Our village was formed into the Z wing of Chaos City—we were the last to give in, some I personally take great pride of—and here we arrive at present day. Chapter II I run through the dark, stinking streets of Chaos City, dodging lampposts and hopping small crevasses in the roughly-cobbled street. My sweaty hands are clutching a hunk of bread which I stole from a Stromling vendor; the said vendor and at least fifteen Maelstrom Enforcers are chasing after me. I've escaped from these before, being forced to steal food to keep me and my sister alive, even if we're still hungry. Life is hard here, and has been forever. A loud gunshot-like noise behind me shatters my thoughts. I narrowly dodge a laser shot from one of the Enforcers guns, that having been the loud noise, and sprint around a corner. I keep on running, only to find I'm stuck in an alley. "Dang it!" I curse under my breath, kicking the brick wall in front of me. The Enforcers see me, wicked smiles forming on their eerie indigo faces, and close in like wolves ending a hunt. I frantically look around, hoping for a drainpipe to climb, a weak spot where I can break through, ANY escape route at all, but none come to my mind. The Enforcers are close now; only meters away. One of them flinches mockingly at my obvious fear, and I spit rudely at his feet. He growls and closes the last two feet, spinning his gun-arm around as if it were a revolver, not a rapid-shooting laser cannon. I cringe, waiting for the end, but surprisingly... it doesn't come. I open one eye to see what has stopped the Enforcer from shooting and see... what are they staring at? I turn to see the object of their amazement and see a hole in the wall, just wide enough for me. I waste no time thinking about how this strange phenomena happened but instead scramble through, sprinting away as fast as my legs can carry me. The Enforcers try to follow, but their heavily-muscled girth combined with their guns and thick leather armour make it impossible for them to fit. I turn and make an impolite face at them, sticking out my tongue impudently, then turn and run again, hoping to 'borrow' a few more meager bits and pieces of food before returning to me and Saia's humble abode—hole in a wall, more like. We feast tonight, my sister and I; both of us having a successful day of thieving food from the Stromlings who always sold their goods on the streets. Saia eats ravenously, telling me about her close calls and narrow escapes, while I eat more slowly and quietly, still wondering about the mysterious hole that had appeared from nowhere. Soon I stop eating, devoting all of my brainpower to that one issue. Saia quickly notices my quiet, pondering manner. "What happened?" she asks, concerned. "It's not like you ot skip dinner, especially such a rich one as this." I look down at the bread, cheese, and one solitary apple piled on my tiny plate. "I wouldn't call it rich, but sure, it's more than we usually have. We did well today." I say, trying to change the subject. Saia looks annoyed. "Don't try and change the subject," she says, percepting the reasons of my little speech perfectly. "Tell me." She leans froward over our little table, resting her elbow on her empty plate and her chin on her hand. I roll the apple around on my plate awhile before speaking. "Okay, I'll tell you." I finally say, seeing her face grow more and more impatient by the second. I relate the incident down to every little detail.